Three problems less - and the skin could look younger for longer. Cosmetic research is on their trail and looking for solutions

The Anti-Age Guide

PROBLEM NO.1:TIRED CELLS

By nature, the skin is equipped with a perfect self-help program. The body's own skin stem cells automatically provide replenishment: When they divide, daughter cells are formed, which migrate to the skin surface within two weeks, thereby releasing anabolic substances, slowly verhornen and fall off after another two weeks as a dandruff. As long as the stem cells constantly form intact daughter cells, the skin remains firm and young. The problem: "Due to external influences and the normal genetically programmed aging process, the cell functions become tired. Mistakes slip in, "explains Dr. Sven Gohla, Research Manager at Juvena. From about the age of 40, the skin gets thinner by one percent each year. The proteins responsible for the elasticity, collagens and elastin decrease by two percent. For a long time, scientists thought that stem cells will become less over the years and their ability to regenerate will therefore decrease. Dr. Sven Gohla: "That's not true. The number remains constant. But the environment of the cells is changing, and signals that are supposed to activate the stem cells are no longer transmitted. "As a wake-up call for the stem cells, the new creams contain, for example, peptides, ie protein compounds that work like messengers. They give the missing signal and stimulate the stem cells to form new cells. Vitamins or natural sugars such as pro-xylans can positively affect the environment of the stem cells and improve their ability to regenerate. Other drugs are targeted directly at cell functions, such as specifically encapsulated retinol. The trick: The new transport capsules are tiny and positively charged. Therefore, they penetrate the skin without any problems, naturally trigger negatively charged cells and fuse with them. Retinol is released and can stimulate collagen formation inside the cell - for firmer, smoother skin.

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PROBLEM NO.2:FREE RADICALS

Without oxygen, we can only survive for four minutes: the body's cells need it to burn food for energy in carbon dioxide and water (oxidation). But because it also creates free, very reactive oxygen radicals, the elixir of life also accelerates the aging process. UV rays and lifestyle sins such as nicotine, alcohol, stress and lack of sleep exacerbate the situation as they also cause free radicals. To a certain extent, these help the body to fight off harmful substances. If there are too many, they also attack healthy tissue and wrest modules from it. For skin cells that are constantly looted in this way, the collagen fibers are limp and wrinkles arise. That is why anti-aging creams contain antioxidants that bind free radicals and thus neutralize them. Classics are vitamins C and E or coenzyme Q10. Almost every day researchers discover more beauty talents. She is particularly interested in plants that cope particularly well with stress factors such as heat, drought or pest infestation, such as frankincense, lemon balm, immortelle and pomegranate. "Basically every plant contains cell protecting substances, " says Dr. Martina Kerscher, Professor of Cosmetics and Personal Care at the University of Hamburg. Resveratrol particularly likes it: "The effect is proven." The substance, which is mostly made from grapes, supports the natural protective mechanisms of skin cells by giving them more time to repair damage. The longer a cell can regenerate, the healthier it will divide. And the younger the skin appears. New in cosmetics is alpha-lipoic acid, which is used successfully in medicine for the treatment of nerve damage. It protects the cells about 20 times stronger than vitamin C against harmful influences. In addition, it regenerates more antioxidants and makes them powerful again.

PROBLEM NO.3:SUGAR

He is the number one bio-fuel. Almost all body cells use it as a source of their energy - especially the brain. Without the simple sugar (glucose) we could not think straight. What sounds so sweet, however, is bitter for the skin. It suffers when we ingest too much sugar with food. The surplus does not just land on your hips. "It attaches itself to the elastic and collagenous fibers of the skin, connecting them together and making them inelastic, " explains Dr. med. Eugenia Makrantonaki, dermatologist at the Berlin Charité, the process known in the trade as glycation. "Although there are body substances that can replace the sugar again, but over time, the body does not produce enough of it. The tissue solidifies sometime downright. Like a cotton ball that has bathed in a sugar solution. The skin fibers lose their elasticity and can tear apart or break. Wrinkles arise. The anti-glycation researchers in the Chanel Cell Biology Laboratory investigated various active substances and found their test winner in Indonesia: An extract of the Bay Cedar tree is said to stimulate the regeneration of the skin's own repair enzyme FN3K and to help desorb the skin fibers. Another way to prevent glycation is through a clever distraction maneuver: At the center of this strategy are substances that act like a kind of magnet. "We became aware of the body's own protein carnosine because it attracts and binds the sugar molecules before they can attack the skin cells. Instead of the skin fibers, the carnosine saccharifies, which can then be broken down without leaving a trace of the body, "explains Dr. med. Irene Rosengarten, Research Manager at La Roche-Posay, the effect. Other products use phytochemicals, such as the blueberry, which stimulate the production of collagen and thus slow down the saccharification of the tissue. Which certainly helps: eat a little refined sugar!